Mortgage help exists to qualify for loans

Lisa Byrd in her new home she purchased with the help of Neighborhood Assistance Corp.

Lisa Byrd in her new home she purchased with the help of Neighborhood Assistance Corp.

Photo: Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad/For the Express-Ne

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Lisa Byrd and her three children Akeela, Tyree and Alexis.

Lisa Byrd and her three children Akeela, Tyree and Alexis.

Photo: Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad/For the Express-Ne

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The Byrd family in their new home.

The Byrd family in their new home.

Photo: Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad/For the Express-Ne

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Alexis Byrd and her sister, Akeela, make the bed in Akeela's new bedroom.

Alexis Byrd and her sister, Akeela, make the bed in Akeela's new bedroom.

Photo: Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad/For the Express-Ne

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Detail from the Byrd home.

Detail from the Byrd home.

Photo: Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad/For the Express-Ne

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Lisa Byrd works in the kitchen of her new home.

Lisa Byrd works in the kitchen of her new home.

Photo: Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad/For the Express-Ne

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Alexis Byrd walks into the new home her mother recently purchased with help from the Neighborhood Assistance Corp.

Alexis Byrd walks into the new home her mother recently purchased with help from the Neighborhood Assistance Corp.

Photo: Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad/For the Express-Ne

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Gina Adamou poses in front of her new home purchased with help from Neighborhood Housing Assistance of San Antonio Monday July 16, 2012 in the Highland Hills area.

Gina Adamou poses in front of her new home purchased with help from Neighborhood Housing Assistance of San Antonio Monday July 16, 2012 in the Highland Hills area.

Photo: Julysa Sosa / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Gina Adamou poses with her daughter Iesha in front of their new home purchased with help from Neighborhood Housing Assistance of San Antonio Monday July 16, 2012 in the Highland Hills area.

Gina Adamou poses with her daughter Iesha in front of their new home purchased with help from Neighborhood Housing Assistance of San Antonio Monday July 16, 2012 in the Highland Hills area.

Photo: Julysa Sosa / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Alexis Byrd, 16, watches television in the living room of her new home.

Alexis Byrd, 16, watches television in the living room of her new home.

Photo: Robin Jerstad / Robin Jerstad/For the Express-Ne

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Mortgage help exists to qualify for loans

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Getting the money to purchase a home can be hard these days, what with lenders raising the bar for borrowers to qualify for mortgage loans.

Nevertheless, there are a host of local programs available to help low- and moderate-income people realize the dream of homeownership. Help is available in the way of low-interest loans, down-payment assistance, and reduced or no closing costs and origination fees.

Just ask Lisa Byrd, a pediatric nurse and mother of three.

With the help of Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America, Byrd obtained an approximately $157,000 mortgage loan this month to buy a four-bedroom, 2.61/2-bath home with a two-car garage in the new subdivision of Laurel Mountain Ranch from builder D.R. Horton.

“You’re not going to believe it, but I have a 1.25 (percent) interest rate on a 30-year fixed loan,” said a gushing Byrd.

Byrd’s monthly house payment, including taxes and insurance, is $834, she said.

“I’m really blessed,” she said. “I’m so grateful for that program.”

Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America (NACA), a nonprofit advocacy group, is focused on neighborhood stabilization in lower- to moderate-income communities, said Carmen Orta, a mortgage counselor in San Antonio.

It offers borrowers below market-rate loans with no down payments and no closing costs. There is no income limit but mortgage loans are capped at $200,160, Orta said. Borrowers are required to pay for a credit report.

“We don’t go by credit score, like any other lender,” Orta explained. “We look at your individual circumstances, your affordability and how have you been paying your bills within this last year or two years.”

Byrd said her credit score was 598, below what many lenders are comfortable with in providing a loan.

Orta said NACA has seen three to four times the typical activity, an increase she attributed to the tighter lending market.
“You have to be patient with NACA because they’re so busy,” Byrd said. “But if you’re willing to withstand that and just wait, it’s worth it.”

NACA isn’t limited to first-time buyers, though borrowers can’t own other real property. San Antonio Alternative Housing Corp., a nonprofit housing developer, has a program for first-time buyers to purchase a new home in one of three areas of the city.

It provides $35,000 to help with the down payment. Of that, $20,000 carries a 3 percent interest rate payable over 30 years. The remaining $15,000 carries no interest rate, and is forgivable over the 20-year life of the loan, according to John Shaver, the developer’s executive director.

Buyers are required to put some skin in the game by putting 1 percent down and paying closing costs, which generally range from $3,000 to $4,000, Shaver said.

The nonprofit’s houses range in price from about $85,000 to a maximum of $110,000, Shaver said. It builds in the Palo Alto, JT Brackenridge and Five Points subdivisions.

“We like to say we build communities, not just homes,” Shaver said. “It’s an energy-efficient home, so it’s low maintenance, low operating costs and improves the neighborhood.”

Only families who earn 80 percent or less of the area’s median income are eligible. That means a family of four would have to earn no more than $48,650 annually to qualify, Shaver said.
Prospective homebuyers who seek assistance from a nonprofit generally are required to attend classes or receive counseling to learn about various aspects of homeownership.

Neighborhood Housing Services of San Antonio hosts a nine-hour workshop, covering topics such as how to manage credit, calculating the value of their assets and mapping a plan to buy a house.

“We work with clients if they are not ready to purchase,” said Dianne Hughes, NHS’s executive director. “So sometimes we may work with a client up to a year, sometimes more.”

Gina Adamou doesn’t believe she could have bought her Highland Hills area home without NHS’s help.

“They walk you through the whole process,” Adamou said. “They teach you from day one exactly what you need to do to qualify and what you need to do to get to that goal.”

Adamou had been a renter for almost six years, but wanted to buy a home for her and her severely disable daughter, Iesha, 19.

Adamou also obtained almost $13,000 in down-payment assistance from NHS to buy an $80,000 home. The assistance was in the form of a second lien. She also received help with closing costs.

Hughes said down-payment assistance is 20 percent of the purchase price, up to $21,000. It partners with banks that provide the borrower with a first-mortgage loan. Borrowers must have two months’ of home payments, taxes and insurance in reserve.

Funding for home-buying programs has become “more compressed,” with organizations vying for fewer dollars, Hughes said. So far, though, it hasn’t impacted efforts to assist buyers, she said.

“We are generally able to take care of the families who come to us,” Hughes said.

pdanner@express-news.net

Help for homebuyers

Here’s some additional information on organizations that assist low- and moderate-income people in purchasing a home:

Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America: Charges no down payment, closing costs, points, or application or origination fees. Helps buyers obtain first mortgage loans at below-market interest rates. Perfect credit is not required. There is a loan cap. 210-826-2828, www.naca.com.

Neighborhood Housing Services of San Antonio: Provides down-payment assistance through second mortgages at fixed interest rates. Open to families who make 80 percent or less of the area median income. 210-533-6673, www.nhsofsa.org.

San Antonio Alternative Housing Corp.: Provides $35,000 second mortgage loans. Open to first-time homebuyers whose income does not exceed 80 percent of the city’s median income. 210-224-2349, www.saahc.org.

Avenida Guadalupe: Provides down-payment assistance of up to $12,000 in the form of a second mortgage loan. Part of the loan is forgivable. Repayment is five years. Open to first-time homebuyers whose income does not exceed 80 percent of the city’s median income. Borrowers must be pre-approved by a first mortgage lender and have good credit. 210-223-3151, www.avenidaguadalupe.%org.

Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio: Works with families whose income is 25 percent to 60 percent of the area median income. Eligible borrowers must contribute at least 300 hours of “sweat equity,” which can include work done toward the building of their home. In exchange, they can purchase the house with a 20- to 25-year zero-percent-interest mortgage. 210-223-5203, www.habitatsa.org.